Marijuana sales appear to be headed to Loveland voters

Loveland City Council majority supports ballot issue

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Loveland city councilor Jeremy Jersvig, left, asks questions to speakers Tuesday, July 9, 2019, as the City Council discusses whether to to ask voters if the city should open up to marijuana sales and cultivation. (Jenny Sparks / Loveland Reporter-Herald)

Loveland voters will decide whether to open the city to marijuana dispensaries and cultivation facilities, based on support by Loveland City Council members at a study session Tuesday.

The majority of the nine-member City Council agreed that the measure should go on the ballot this November for both medical and recreational sales after a 4.5-hour study session packed with testimony from the public, from representatives of health care and the marijuana industry and from city staff.

The council will officially vote Aug. 6 and Aug. 20 on whether to ask voters to lift a ban and allow sales, cultivation and manufacturing of medical and recreational marijuana within the city, with specific regulations such as location, hours and other factors to be set later by the elected officials.

The clause that the regulations will be developed after the election and that sales would not take place until after that occurs pushed Councilman Jeremy Jersvig to support the issue. He believes people have the choice, but he didn’t want to rush the regulations.

“If that’s how it’s written, then I say, go for it,” he said. “Put it up to the people.”

But, he said, it needs to make economic sense, and the numbers need to show the revenue would outpace the costs associated with bringing marijuana businesses to Loveland.

Council members Kathi Wright, Leah Johnson, Rich Ball, John Fogle and Mayor Jacki Wright all agreed with Jersvig, saying that the decision should be made by the voters.

The ninth councilor, Dave Clark, said he supports medical marijuana but “has a hard time supporting the recreational side.” He asked if the council could separate those issues, but the majority of the council members supported putting both on the ballot to voters.

Fogle brought the topic to the council because he has heard citizens asking for a vote on the measure. If the City Council does not put the issue on the ballot, Fogle believes a citizen initiative will. And that route, he said, would leave the ballot language to the citizens and take the controls on location, time and other issues away from the council.

“Any of the controls we have in mind may very well slip from our grasp,” said Fogle.

The proposed council initiative would allow the city to set its tax rate for recreational marijuana at up to 15%, giving the city discretion based on revenue needs, while a citizen initiative would likely leave it at the standard 3%, Fogle also pointed out.

“We would have the cheapest marijuana north of anywhere. That is a serious concern. While we would enjoy the tourism, we don’t need a parade. … I really think citizen initiatives will be coming soon, and if they do, this council will have no control.”

Overcash, however, did not agree. While he understands the need for medical marijuana, he believes recreational marijuana is a moral matter that puts the safety of youths at risk. Citizens previously denied a similar request to have marijuana businesses in Loveland, and there are still a lot of unknowns about health and crime, Overcash said.

He said the city should slow down and, instead of basing decisions on fear and gain, council members should take the time to really study the issue and put principle before politics.

“The citizens expressed themselves a few years ago 60-40,” Overcash said. “Maybe that’s changing, but I feel like we’re rushing. … I’ll take my chances. I’ll have a rational process.”

He added, “I believe we’re rushing this. I believe it is fear-based. I think we need to sit back and think about what negative impact his might have on our community.”

Steve Olson, another dissenter, brought up several statistics and quoted several articles about health impacts, particularly on adolescents, and about increased crimes including a hike in traffic deaths associated with drivers who are under the influence. He said he is worried about the costs, not dollar costs, but health and societal costs.

“There’s no doubt that some folks get benefit from medical marijuana,” Olson said. “We’ve heard testimony to that tonight, but I’m not willing to risk our children, because I do care about our children.”

“I don’t feel we’re compelled to provide access to marijuana in Loveland. … I know it’s here, but I’m not willing to make it readily available,” Olson said.

“I’m concerned about sacrificing the wholesomeness of Loveland for a few dollars.”

Other council members, though, said the issue belongs in the hands of voters.

Wright said the referral would give the City Council authority to decide “time, place and manner.”

“This is not a moral issue,” Johnson said. “This is an issue of making sure that we can set policies for our community, making sure that our communities are safe, that are roads are safe … And its vital we keep the rhetoric to a minimum and keep the facts to what it is.”

Marsh noted that alcohol has been far more destructive than marijuana and that citizens have the right to decide on whether marijuana businesses belong in Loveland.

Ball said he voted against legalizing marijuana and is conflicted by the issue. However, it boils down to the fact that voters legalized marijuana in Colorado, and the decision on allowing sales in Loveland belongs to the citizens, Ball said.

“This is one of those things that the voters are going to have to decide,” Ball said. “I will support those on the council who feel the voters have the right, and they do. … We also want to put restrictions on this and the appropriate revenue. We’re too close to all the other cities (that allow it), because we’re not an island.”

Fogle, too, said he voted against legalizing marijuana but has since changed his tune.

“Things change,” Fogle said. “Medicine changes, everything changes, and as a city, perhaps it’s time for us to change.”

He and other council members noted that marijuana is already in Loveland and that a vote on dispensaries is coming, whether it’s from the council or the citizens.

“At the end of the day, people have a right to do what they want to do, and I’m hearing from a vast group of people that want this on the ballot,” Fogle added. “I’m not suggesting that we just up and do it. The council has the right to do this with two readings, just bing, bang, done. But I think people have a right to decide.”

How can marijuana businesses become legal in Loveland?

By vote:

The Loveland City Council can put the measure on the ballot, retaining control over details such as locations, hours of business and sales tax amount. The council must vote Aug. 6 and Aug. 20 to get it on the ballot this November.

Citizens may collect signatures to place their own measure on the ballot. The signatures would need to be certified by Sept. 6, and the ballot language would be written by citizens.

By City Council:

The elected board could choose to authorize marijuana businesses within the city limits by approving an ordinance and skipping a vote altogether. This would take two readings and a majority vote.

Pamela Johnson is an award-winning journalist with two decades invested in the community of Loveland. She covers education, county government, environmental issues, outdoor recreation and whatever else she finds along the way.